Coke: it's the real deadly thing?

Salt shakers
February 2004

Coke: it's the real deadly thing?
An International Labor Rights Fund Campaign, "Stop Killer Coke," calls for a global boycott of the popular soft drink until it pressures subcontractor bottlers in Colombia to end a campaign of violence against union organizers. Organizers also encourage Coke fans to write to the company and/or sign a petition calling on Coke to reign in the alleged thuggish anti-union actions of their global partners and bottlers.

In a press release, Coca-Cola responded to the boycott call: "One of The Coca-Cola Company's fundamental principles for conducting business around the world is respect for human and labor rights. We treat all our employees in over 200 countries in which we do business with fairness, dignity and respect. We and our bottling partners operate in accordance with local laws and we contribute to the communities we serve.

"The Coca-Cola Company and its bottling partners strengthen communities around the world through direct investment, employment, and support for local organizations and worthy causes. Colombia is no different. The Coca-Cola Company and its bottling partners have been investing in Colombia for 63 years.

"Given the local nature and the purpose of the Coca-Cola business, we believe that calls for boycotts of our products are not the appropriate way to further any cause, as they primarily hurt the local economy, local businesses and local citizens."

The global boycott call is part of an unusual example of international union coopertation. In July 2001 the Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organization International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) and the United Steel Workers of America filed four lawsuits in Federal District Court on behalf of Sinaltrainal (a union representing food and beverage workers in Colombia), five individuals who have been tortured or unlawfully detained for union activities, and the estate of murdered union activist Isidro Gil.

The plaintiffs contend Coca-Cola bottlers "contracted with or otherwise directed paramilitary security forces that utilized extreme violence and murdered, tortured, unlawfully detained, or otherwise silenced trade union leaders."

Sinaltrainal charges that at least six of its leaders have been murdered since 1989 by death squads, which it claims secretly worked for local Coca-Cola plant managers.

Coke denied the charges: "Colombian labor union SINALTRAINAL's oft-repeated allegations against The Coca-Cola Company and its Colombian bottling partners are completely false. They are nothing more than a shameless effort to generate publicity using the name of our Company, its trademark and brands."

Colombia is the murder capital of the world. A 40-year-old civil war, a decades-long government campaign against drug traffickers and an infamously brutal military have led to near anarchy and more than 35,000 deaths. But Colombia is an especially notorious killing field for union leaders.

Some 213 trade union leaders were murdered worldwide in 2002, according to the London-based International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. Of those, 184 died in Colombia. Since 1986, nearly 4,000 Colombia union leaders have been assassinated—including 400 from the national teachers union alone. Virtually none of the killers have been brought to justice.

Coca-Cola's legal defense "is not that the murder and terrorism of trade unionists did not occur," according to an ILRF press release. The company argues that it cannot be held liable in a U.S. federal court for events outside the United States. "Coca-Cola also argues that it does not 'own,' and therefore does not control, the bottling plants in Colombia."

In late March, a judge dismissed Coca-Cola from the lawsuits—on grounds that the firm does not have control over the labor practices of its bottlers—but allowed the case against the bottlers to go forward. A request for an appeal is pending.

According to Daniel Kovalik, assistant general counsel for the United Steelworkers of America and co-counsel for the plaintiffs: "In the short run, [the court decision] means that we can't proceed against Coke, but it doesn't necessarily mean that in the long run. I am absolutely confident that we'll win the appeal."

Kovalik maintains that Coca-Cola is liable for its bottlers' actions. For one thing, the 20 Colombia bottlers are deeply entwined in Coke's core economic activities. Coca-Cola provides syrup to the bottlers, who mix, bottle, package, and ship the drinks to wholesalers and retailers throughout Colombia. The bottlers are integral to the beverage giant's operations in the country. Moreover, Coca-Cola and its bottlers have deep financial links.

In May, Coca-Cola FEMSA, a bottling company, acquired Pan American Beverages, Latin America's largest bottler and a defendant in the case. In the year before it was acquired, sales of Coca-Cola represented 89 percent of Pan American's $2.35 billion net sales. The acquisition made Mexico-based Coca-Cola FEMSA the largest Coca-Cola bottler in Latin America. The Coca-Cola Company owns a 30 percent equity stake in Coca-Cola FEMSA, according to the bottling company, and several of its executives also work for Coke.

"We're pleased with the court's ruling that we can proceed with our case against the Coca Cola bottlers that used paramilitaries to assassinate labor union leaders in Colombia," said Terry Collingsworth, executive director of the Washington, DC-based International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF), co-counsel for the families of the murdered Colombian workers.

"While we're disappointed that the judge separated the Coca Cola Company from the case," said Kovalik, "we think this was an error that can be remedied on appeal. We are absolutely convinced that one word from Coca Cola would stop the campaign of terror against trade union leaders in the Colombian bottling plants."

Coca-Cola insists that it protects workers' rights wherever the company operates. In a press relesase, Coke counters: "Respect for labor and human rights is fundamental to The Coca-Cola Company's principles for conducting business around the world. We treat all our employees in more than 200 countries in which we do business with fairness, dignity and respect. We and our bottling partners operate in accordance with local laws and contribute to the communities we serve.

"Coca-Cola bottlers in Colombia have extensive, normal relations with multiple labor unions, including SINALTRAINAL. Elsewhere in Latin America, more than half of the employees of Coca-Cola bottlers are represented by different labor unions."

"We feel that this is just the beginning of a process that will lead to a dismissal [of the suit] against our bottling partners," a Coke spokesperson said.

For more information:
Statement from Coca-Cola

Below is the content of a letter from Javier Correa, President of Sinaltrainal, introducing the campaign.

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

We need your help to stop a gruesome cycle of murders, kidnappings and torture of SINALTRAINAL (National Union of Food Industry Workers) union leaders and organizers involved in daily life-and-death struggles at Coca-Cola bottling plants in Colombia.

In July 2001, the United Steelworkers of America and the International Labor Rights Fund (www.laborrights.org) filed a lawsuit on behalf of SINALTRAINAL, several of its members and the estate of Isidro Gil, one of its murdered officers. The lawsuit and campaign aim to force Coca-Cola to prevent further bloodshed and to provide safe working conditions.

Coca-Cola bottlers "contracted with or otherwise directed paramilitary security forces that utilize extreme violence and murdered, tortured, unlawfully detained or otherwise silenced trade union leaders," the lawsuit states. It also notes that Colombian troops connected with the paramilitaries have trained at the U.S. Army's School of the Americas (SOA) at Fort Benning, Ga., where trainees were encouraged to torture and murder those who do "union organizing and recruiting;" pass out "propaganda in favor of workers;" and "sympathize with demonstrators or strikes." This was made public when the Pentagon was forced to reveal the contents of training manuals used at the school. (For more information, see www.soaw.org, the website of SOA Watch.) The year that the lawsuit was filed, The Coca-Cola Co. made $4 billion in profits and paid its CEO, Douglas Daft, more than $105 million. Coca-Cola continues to rake in billions each year, yet the frightening conditions at the Coke plants remain unchanged. Labor unions and human rights advocates in the United States can stop these atrocities at Coca-Cola's bottling plants.

The Campaign to Stop Killer Coke will move the fight to the doorsteps and into the boardrooms of Coca-Cola and its key financial ally, SunTrust Banks. As long as SunTrust, "the bank of Killer Coke," maintains its intimate ties to Coke through board interlocks, large stock holdings and credit relationships, SunTrust, along with Coca-Cola, will be a principal target of this campaign. We ask you to take part in this most important struggle. Any contribution you can make to the campaign will serve as a critical building block and act of solidarity to help end one of the ugliest chapters in labor history. Please make a financial contribution, participate in protest activities and mail in the coupon below. By working together, we can protect our sisters and brothers and restrain corporations like SunTrust and Coke that behave so immorally and irresponsibly. Any support you give will be greatly appreciated and acknowledged.

In solidarity,
Javier Correa, President, Sinaltrainal
William Mendoza, President of SINALTRAINAL, Barrancabermeja.
Ray Rogers, Director, Campaign to Stop Killer Coke

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